Techniques to preserve bandwidth in a communication system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus to preserve bandwidth in a communication system are described wherein a receiver receives a first frame of transport blocks from a mobile device and an error detection module connected to the receiver detects whether each transport block contains an error. The error detection module generates an error indicator value to indicate whether each transport block contains an error or does not contain an error. A frame generator connected to the error detection module generates a second frame with the transport blocks that do not contain an error and the error indicator values. A first network interface is configured to send the second frame to a radio network controller. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

BACKGROUND

A communication system typically communicates information between two ormore end points. One design consideration for a communication system isthe amount of bandwidth available to communicate the information.Typically, bandwidth is a particularly expensive factor in designing acommunication system. Consequently, techniques to reduce bandwidthconsumption or increase bandwidth efficiency may lead to improved systemperformance and lower costs for the system.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus to preserve bandwidth in a communication systemare described wherein a receiver receives a first frame of transportblocks from a mobile device and an error detection module connected tothe receiver detects whether each transport block contains an error. Theerror detection module generates an error indicator value to indicatewhether each transport block contains an error or does not contain anerror. A frame generator connected to the error detection modulegenerates a second frame with the transport blocks that do not containan error and the error indicator values. A first network interface isconfigured to send the second frame to a radio network controller. Otherembodiments are described and claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partial block diagram of a Node B 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial block diagram of a radio network controller112.

FIG. 4 illustrates a frame 400.

FIG. 5 illustrates a frame 500.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of macro-diversity for a system 600.

FIG. 7 illustrates a programming logic 700.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 100. System 100 maycomprise, for example, a communication system having multiple nodes. Anode may comprise any physical or logical entity having a unique addressin system 100. Examples of a node may include, but are not necessarilylimited to, a computer, server, workstation, laptop, ultra-laptop,handheld computer, telephone, cellular telephone, personal digitalassistant (PDA), router, switch, bridge, hub, gateway, wireless accesspoint (WAP), and so forth. The unique address may comprise, for example,a network address such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a deviceaddress such as a Media Access Control (MAC) address, and so forth. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

The nodes of system 100 may be connected by one or more types ofcommunications media and input/output (I/O) adapters. The communicationsmedia may comprise any media capable of carrying information signals.Examples of communications media may include metal leads, printedcircuit boards (PCB), backplanes, switch fabric, semiconductor material,twisted-pair wire, co-axial cable, fiber optics, radio frequency (RF)spectrum, and so forth. An information signal may refer to a signalwhich has been coded with information. The I/O adapters may be arrangedto operate with any suitable technique for controlling informationsignals between nodes using a desired set of communications protocols,services or operating procedures. The I/O adapters may also include theappropriate physical connectors to connect the I/O adapters with acorresponding communications media. Examples of an I/O adapter mayinclude a network interface, a network interface card (NIC), radio/airinterface, disc controllers, video controllers, audio controllers, andso forth. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

The nodes of system 100 may be configured to communicate different typesof information, such as media information and control information. Mediainformation may refer to any data representing content meant for a user,such as voice information, video information, audio information, textinformation, alphanumeric symbols, graphics, images, and so forth.Control information may refer to any data representing commands,instructions or control words meant for an automated system. Forexample, control information may be used to route media informationthrough a system, or instruct a node to process the media information ina predetermined manner.

The nodes of system 100 may communicate media and control information inaccordance with one or more protocols. A protocol may comprise a set ofpredefined rules or instructions to control how the nodes communicateinformation between each other. The protocol may be defined by one ormore protocol standards as promulgated by a standards organization, suchas the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU), the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE), and so forth.

Referring again to FIG. 1, system 100 may comprise a Universal MobileTelecommunication System (UMTS) as defined by the Third-GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) 3G TS line of specifications, for example.UMTS 100 may include various nodes operationally divided into threeparts: User Equipment (UE) 102, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network(UTRAN) 108, and Core Network (CN) 120. Although FIG. 1 illustrates alimited number of nodes in a given topology, it may be appreciated thatUMTS 100 may have more or less nodes in any topology and still fallwithin the scope of the embodiments.

In one embodiment, UE 102 may include mobile equipment (ME) 104 a-c.Examples of ME may include a cellular telephone, a laptop computer witha radio interface, a handheld computer such as a PDA with a radiointerface, an integrated cellular telephone/PDA, and so forth. ME 104a-c may communicate information to Node B 110 a-d of UTRAN 108 over awireless communication medium, such as RF spectrum. UE 102 and Node B110 a-d may communicate using a Uu interface 106. Uu interface 106 maybe an interface as defined by the 3GPP specification titled “RadioResource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification,” 3G TS 25-331, release1999 (“Uu Specification”), for example.

In one embodiment, system 100 may include UTRAN 108. UTRAN 108 mayhandle the radio-related operations for system 100. UTRAN 108 mayinclude Node B 110 a-d and Radio Network Controller (RNC) 112 a-b. NodeB 110 a-d may comprise base stations arranged to communicate informationto ME 104 a-c via Uu interface 106. As shown in FIG. 1, Node B 110 a andNode B 110 b may be connected to RNC 112 a, while Node B 110 c and NodeB 110 d may be connected to RNC 112 b. Node B 110 a-d may communicatewith RNC 112 a-b using an Iub interface 114. Iub interface 114 may be aninterface as defined by the 3GPP specification titled “UTRAN IubInterface: General Aspects and Principles,” 3G TS 25-430, release 1999(“Iub Specification”), for example. RNC 112 a and RNC 112 b maycommunicate using Iur interface 116. Iur interface 116 may be aninterface as defined by the 3GPP specification titled “UTRAN IurInterface: General Aspects and Principles,” 3G TS 25-420, release 1999(“Iur Specification”), for example.

In one embodiment, system 100 may include CN 120. CN 120 may beresponsible for switching/routing information from UE 102 and UTRAN 108to external networks. Examples of external networks may include a voicenetwork such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or a datanetwork such as the Internet. UTRAN 108 may communicate with CN 120using an Iu interface 118. Iu interface 118 may be an interface asdefined by the 3GPP specification titled “UTRAN Iu Interface: GeneralAspects and Principles,” 3G TS 25-410, release 1999 (“IuSpecification”), for example.

In general operation, ME 104 a-c of UE 102 may communicate media andcontrol information to Node B 110 a-d of UTRAN 108 via Uu interface 106.Node B 110 a-d may receive the information and forward the informationto RNC 112 a-b via Iub interface 114. RNC 112 a-b of UTRAN 108 may sendthe information to CN 120 via Iu Interface 116. All user, management andsignaling data exchanged between the various UMTS elements are passedthrough the respective interfaces in the form of data frames. The dataframes may include, among other fields, one or more transport blockswith corresponding error indicator values. An example of an errorindicator value may comprise a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) indicator(CRCI). The embodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 1 may also illustrate a call connection for a call session (e.g.,telephone call) between ME 104 b and ME 104 c. ME 104 b may communicateinformation to ME 104 c through a first portion of communication datapath 122 that includes a single Node B 110 b and RNC 112 a of UTRAN 108.ME 104 c may communicate information to ME 104 b through a secondportion of communication data path 122 that includes multiple Node B110, such as Node B 110 c and Node B 110 d, and RNC 112 b of URAN 108.The second portion of communication data path 122 for ME 104 c mayinclude multiple radio connections with UTRAN 108 to implement atechnique referred to as “macro-diversity.”

Macro-diversity is a technique used to lower the probability ofreceiving erroneous frames in UTRAN 108 and CN 120. A relatively largeportion of bit errors in the second portion of communication data path122 may occur on Uu interface 106 due to problems caused by signalfading, interference, diffraction, and so forth. Sending the same datathrough several radio links allows RNC 112 a-b to combine correctreceived frames by choosing parts of the received frames (e.g.,transport blocks) from the various radio links that were not distortedduring communication. Each Node B 110 a-d may be arranged to detectwhether there was an error in each transport block received from ME 104a-c on the radio link by using an error detection technique, such asCRC. The receiving Node B 110 a-d may perform error detection, and set aCRCI bit for each transport block in the data frame sent to RNC 112 a-b.RNC 112 a-b may then use the CRCI to perform macro-diversity combiningby selecting those received transport blocks that have been correctlyreceived and do not contain errors.

One problem associated with conventional implementations ofmacro-diversity techniques is that transport blocks with errors are sentbetween Node B 110 a-d and RNC 112 a-b. The bit error rate (BER) on Uuinterface 106 typically varies from 10⁻⁹ to 10⁻⁶, and in some cases theBER can be even 10⁻³ or higher depending on radio conditions, movementof ME 104 a-c, and so forth. Assuming a BER of 10⁻³ and a standardtransport block length of 336 bits, statistically every third transportblock may contain an error. Such transport blocks are marked by settingCRCI to “1” by Node B 110 a-d, and sending the transport blocks to RNC112 a-b via Iub interface 114. RNC 112 a-b, however, is typicallyconfigured to drop the transport blocks having their corresponding CRCIset to “1” thereby indicating errors. Consequently, communication oftransport blocks having errors may unnecessarily consume bandwidth onIub Interface 114.

These and other problems may be solved by one or more embodiments. Forexample, Iub interface 114 as implemented by Node B 110 a-d and RNC 112a-b may be modified to reduce or eliminate the communication oftransport blocks having errors. Node B 110 a-d may perform errordetection on data frames received from ME 104 a-c, and set a CRCI bitfor each transport block in the data frames. Node B 110 a-d may thenforward the data frames with the CRCI bits but without the transportblocks containing errors. By sending only CRCI bits without incorrecttransport blocks on Iub interface 114, Node B 110 could significantlypreserve Iub bandwidth.

FIG. 2 illustrates a partial block diagram of a Node B 110. Node B 110may be representative of, for example, any of Node B 110 a-d. As shownin FIG. 2, Node B 110 may comprise multiple elements, such as a receiver204 and an Iub line card 214. Some elements may be implemented using,for example, one or more circuits, components, registers, processors,software subroutines, or any combination thereof. Although FIG. 2 showsa limited number of elements, it can be appreciated that more or lesselements may be used in Node B 110 as desired for a givenimplementation. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In one embodiment, Node B 110 may include receiver 204. Receiver 204 maycomprise a radio receiver to receive radio signals from ME 104 a-c.Receiver 204 may be arranged to receive Uu interface traffic inaccordance with the Uu Specification. More particularly, receiver 204may receive a first frame 202 from ME 104 a-c. First frame 202 may berepresentative of the framing protocol (FP) frames communicated betweenNode B 110 and ME 104. First frame 202 may include multiple transportblocks. Receiver 204 may forward first frame 202 to Iub line card 214for processing and transport to RNC 112 a-b.

In one embodiment, Node B 110 may include Iub line card 214. Iub linecard 206 may process the Iub interface traffic with RNC 112 inaccordance with the Iub Specification. Iub line card 206 may include anerror detection module 206, a frame generator 208, and network interface210.

Error detection module 206 may perform error detection on each dataframe received from receiver 204. Error detection module may perform theerror detection using any number of error detection techniques, such asCRC, for example. Error detection module 206 may generate an errorindicator value to indicate whether each transport block contains anerror or does not contain an error. An example of an error indicatorvalue may comprise a CRCI bit. Error detection module may output a CRCIbit for each transport block to frame generator 208.

Frame generator 208 may generate a second frame 212. Second frame 212may include transport blocks from first frame 202 that do not contain anerror, and the CRCI bits for all the transport blocks received in firstframe 202 from ME 104 a-c. Frame generator 208 may output second frame212 for transport to RNC 112 a-b via network interface 210.

In operation, Iub line card 214 may preserve bandwidth on Iub interface114 by not sending erroneous transport blocks between Node B 110 a-d andRNC 112 a-b in UMTS 100. RNC 112 a-b may be arranged to drop erroneoustransport blocks received from Node B 110 a-d, and is typically arrangedto perform such operations by default. Iub line card 214 may thereforebe arranged to send only correct transport blocks and appropriately setCRCI bits in the data frame as a notification that the correspondingtransport block contained an error. This can save a significant amountof bandwidth on Iub interface 114, which could allow more calls to behandled using the same physical Iub interface 114 and improve overallperformance for UMTS 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial block diagram of a RNC 112. RNC 112 may berepresentative of, for example, any of RNC 112 a-b. As shown in FIG. 3,RNC 112 may comprise multiple elements. Some elements may be implementedusing, for example, one or more circuits, components, registers,processors, software subroutines, or any combination thereof. AlthoughFIG. 3 shows a limited number of elements, it can be appreciated thatmore or less elements may be used in RNC 112 as desired for a givenimplementation. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In one embodiment, RNC 112 may comprise a host card 302, an Ethernetswitching module 304, an Iub line card 306 and an Iu line card 308, allconnected via a high-speed Ethernet back plane 310. Iub line card 306may process the Iub interface traffic, such as second frame 212, fromNode B 110 in accordance with the Iub Specification. Iu line card 308may process Iu interface traffic from CN 120 in accordance with the IuSpecification. Iub line card 306 and Iu line card 308 may use one ormore processors to execute the data plane protocols and control planeprotocols (e.g., signaling protocols). Host card 302 may execute the RNCapplication and additional signaling protocols. Ethernet switchingmodule 304 may switch packets of information between host card 302 andline cards 306/308 via high-speed Ethernet back plane 310.

In operation, Iub line card 306 may receive the data frames (e.g.,second frame 212) from Node B 110 a-d. Iub line card 306 may retrievethe CRCI for each transport block, and use the CRCI to determine whichtransport blocks have been removed or dropped from the original dataframe received by Node B 110 a-d. The operations of Node B 110 may bedescribed in further detail with reference to FIGS. 4-7.

FIG. 4 illustrates a frame 400. Frame 400 may represent a partial framestructure for a FP uplink (UL) frame for dedicated channels (DCH). It isworthy to note that the embodiments are not limited to DCH, and but mayalso apply to all UMTS channels carrying transport blocks andcorresponding CRCI bits. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

Frame 400 may be representative of the FP frames exchanged between NodeB 110 and RNC 112 via Iub interface 114 before transport blocks witherrors have been removed. As shown in FIG. 4, frame 400 may comprise aheader field 402, transport blocks TB1-n, CRCI field 404, and trailerfield 406. Transport blocks TB1-n may be in an ordered sequence. CRCIfield 404 may be used to transport a CRCI value for each transport blockTB1-n. The CRCI value may indicate whether the corresponding transportblock is error-free (e.g., value 0) or contains an error (e.g., value1).

Frame 400 may be representative of a FP frame before removing thetransport blocks that contain an error. Error detection module 206 maygenerate a CRCI for each transport block TB1-n, where there are n CRCIbits generated for n transport blocks. Sending frame 400 in its currentform, however, may unnecessarily consume bandwidth on Iub interface 114for the transport blocks containing errors.

FIG. 5 illustrates a frame 500. Frame 500 may be representative of a FPframe such as frame 400 after removing the transport blocks that containan error. As shown in FIG. 5, frame 500 may be similar in framestructure to frame 400, and includes a header 502, transport blocksTB1-m, CRCI field 504, and trailer 506. In frame 500, however, thetransport blocks that contain an error may be removed, and thereforeframe 500 may have less transport blocks m than transport blocks n offrame 400. CRCI field 504 may still retain, however, the n CRCI bits foreach transport block TB1-n.

Iub line card 306 of RNC 112 may receive frame 500 from Node B 110 a-d.Iub line card 306 may use the n CRCI bits to determine whether to takethe corresponding TB1-m from frame 500 if the CRCI bit is set to 0, ornot to expect a missing transport block and mark it as containing anerror if the CRCI bit is set to 1. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, theCRCI bit for TB1 is set to 0 and TB1 is present in frame 500. The CRCIbits for TB2 and TB3, however, are both set to 1 and are not present inframe 500, thus preserving bandwidth for Iub interface 114. The CRCI bitfor TB4 is set to 0 and TB4 is present in frame 500. This technique mayapply to all transport blocks TBm for frame 500.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of macro-diversity for a system 600. Theembodiments may provide several advantages over conventional techniques.One example may be presented using FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6, system600 may include ME 602, node B 606 a-c, and RNC 610. ME 602 may haveradio connections 1-3 to node B 606 a, node B 606 b, and node B 606 c,respectively, over Uu interface 604. Node B 606 a-c may connect to RNC610 via Iub interface 608.

The embodiments may result in preserving bandwidth for Iub interface 608for UMTS 600, particularly when macro-diversity techniques are used. Forexample, assume that links 2 and 3 are low quality radio connections,and therefore a higher number of transport blocks (e.g., 1 in 3) arereceived by node B 606 b and node B 606 c, respectively, with errors.Further assume that link 1 is a higher quality radio connection (e.g.,BER<10⁻⁶), and therefore a lower number of transport blocks are receivedby node B 606 a with errors. In such a case, approximately 22% of theIub bandwidth for Iub interface 608 may be preserved by removingtransport blocks with errors from the data frames. This figure could bemuch higher for lower quality links, which typically occur in areaswhere signal interference is particularly high, such as in a city orother densely populated area.

Operations for the above system and subsystem may be further describedwith reference to the following figures and accompanying examples. Someof the figures may include programming logic. Although such figurespresented herein may include a particular programming logic, it can beappreciated that the programming logic merely provides an example of howthe general functionality described herein can be implemented. Further,the given programming logic does not necessarily have to be executed inthe order presented unless otherwise indicated. In addition, the givenprogramming logic may be implemented by a hardware element, a softwareelement executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

FIG. 7 illustrates a programming logic 700. Programming logic 700 may berepresentative of the operations executed by one or more systemsdescribed herein, such as system 100, Node B 110, and/or RNC 112. Asshown in programming logic 700, a first frame of transport blocks may bereceived from a mobile device at block 702. A determination may be madeas to whether each transport block contains an error at block 704. Anerror indicator value may be generated to indicate whether eachtransport block contains an error or does not contain an error at block706. The error indicator value may comprise, for example, a CRCI bit. Asecond frame may be generated with said transport blocks that do notcontain an error and said error indicator values at block 708. Thesecond frame may be sent to a RNC at block 710.

In one embodiment, an n number of CRCI bits may be generated for ntransport blocks. The second frame may include the n CRCI bits and mtransport blocks, where n is greater than m.

In one embodiment, each transport block sent with the first frame mayhave a sequence number. In this case, the RNC may receive the secondframe and retrieve the CRCI bits. The RNC may determine which transportblocks in the sequence of transport blocks sent with the first framehave been omitted from the second frame using the error indicatorvalues. For example, the CRCI bits may be set to 1 to indicate atransport block has an error, and set to 0 to indicate a transport blockdoes not have an error.

Numerous specific details have been set forth herein to provide athorough understanding of the embodiments. It will be understood bythose skilled in the art, however, that the embodiments may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well-knownoperations, components and circuits have not been described in detail soas not to obscure the embodiments. It can be appreciated that thespecific structural and functional details disclosed herein may berepresentative and do not necessarily limit the scope of theembodiments.

It is also worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyall referring to the same embodiment.

Some embodiments may be implemented using an architecture that may varyin accordance with any number of factors, such as desired computationalrate, power levels, heat tolerances, processing cycle budget, input datarates, output data rates, memory resources, data bus speeds and otherperformance constraints. For example, an embodiment may be implementedusing software executed by a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. In another example, an embodiment may be implemented asdedicated hardware, such as a circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), Programmable Logic Device (PLD) or digitalsignal processor (DSP), and so forth. In yet another example, anembodiment may be implemented by any combination of programmedgeneral-purpose computer components and custom hardware components. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

Some embodiments may use one or more network processors, such as forline cards 206 and 208 of Node B 110, and line cards 306 and 308 of RNC112, for example. The network processor may comprise, for example, anetwork processor from the Intel® IXP series of network processors madeby Intel Corporation. The Intel IXP series of network processors maycontain multiple processing elements, such as multiple microengines anda processor core. The processing core may be, for example, an IntelStrongARM® Core (ARM is a trademark of ARM Limited, United Kingdom). Theprocessor core may also include a central controller that assists inloading code for other resources of the network processor, for example,and performs other general-purpose computer type functions such ashandling protocols, exceptions and extra support for packet processing.The microengines may include memory that may have the capability tostore instructions, for example. For example, in one embodiment theremay be sixteen microengines, with each microengine having the capabilityto process eight program threads. The embodiments are not limited inthis context.

Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. It should be understood thatthese terms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example,some embodiments may be described using the term “connected” to indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. In another example, some embodiments may be describedusing the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are indirect physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

While certain features of the embodiments have been illustrated asdescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes andequivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is thereforeto be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of theembodiments.

1. An apparatus to preserve bandwidth in a communication system,comprising: a receiver to receive a first frame of transport blocks froma mobile device; an error detection module to connect to said receiver,said error detection module to detect whether each transport blockcontains an error, and generate an error indicator value to indicatewhether each transport block contains an error or does not contain anerror; a frame generator to connect to said error detection module, saidframe generator to generate a second frame with said transport blocksthat do not contain an error and without said transport blocks that docontain an error, said second frame having error indicator valuesrepresenting said transport blocks that do contain an error and saiderror indicator values; a first network interface to send said secondframe to a radio network controller.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein said error indicator value comprises a cyclic redundancy checkindicator bit, and said error detection module is arranged to generate ncyclic redundancy check bits for n transport blocks.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein said error indicator value comprises a cyclicredundancy check indicator bit, and said frame generator is arranged togenerate said second frame with n cyclic redundancy check bits and mtransport blocks, where n is greater than m.
 4. The apparatus of claim1, wherein each transport block sent with said first frame has asequence number, and further comprising a second network interface toreceive said second frame, retrieve said error indicator values, anddetermine which transport blocks in said sequence of transport blockssent with said first frame have been omitted from said second frameusing said error indicator values.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinsaid error indicator value indicator is set to one to indicate atransport block has an error, and set to zero to indicate a transportblock does not have an error.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein saidfirst network interface and said second network interface comprise Iubinterfaces as defined by an Iub Specification.
 7. A system to preservebandwidth in a communication system, comprising: a mobile device to senda first frame of transport blocks; a base station comprising: anantenna; a receiver to connect to said antenna, said receiver to receivesaid first frame from said antenna; an error detection module to connectto said receiver, said error detection module to detect whether eachtransport block contains an error, and generate an error indicator valueto indicate whether each transport block contains an error or does notcontain an error; a frame generator to connect to said error detectionmodule, said frame generator to generate a second frame with saidtransport blocks that do not contain an error and without said transportblocks that do contain an error, said second frame having errorindicator values representing said transport blocks that do contain anerror and said error indicator values; a first network interface to sendsaid second frame.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said errorindicator value comprises a cyclic redundancy check indicator bit, andsaid error detection module is arranged to generate n cyclic redundancycheck bits for n transport blocks.
 9. The system of claim 7, whereinsaid error indicator value comprises a cyclic redundancy check indicatorbit, and said frame generator is arranged to generate said second framewith n cyclic redundancy check bits and m transport blocks, where n isgreater than m.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein each transport blocksent with said first frame has a sequence number, and furthercomprising: a radio network controller having a second networkinterface, said second network interface to receive said second frame,retrieve said error indicator values, and determine which transportblocks in said sequence of transport blocks sent with said first framehave been omitted from said second frame using said error indicatorvalues.
 11. A method to preserve bandwidth in a communication system,comprising: receiving a first frame of transport blocks from a mobiledevice; determining whether each transport block contains an error;generating an error indicator value to indicate whether each transportblock contains an error or does not contain an error; generating asecond frame with said transport blocks that do not contain an error andwithout said transport blocks that do contain an error, said secondframe having error indicator values representing said transport blocksthat do contain an error and said error indicator values; and sendingsaid second frame to a radio network controller.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein said error indicator value comprises a cyclic redundancycheck indicator bit, and said generating comprises generating n cyclicredundancy check bits for n transport blocks.
 13. The method of claim11, wherein said error indicator value comprises a cyclic redundancycheck indicator bit, and said second frame comprises n cyclic redundancycheck bits for m transport blocks, where n is greater than m.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein each transport block sent with said firstframe has a sequence number, further comprising: receiving said secondframe; retrieving said error indicator values; and determining whichtransport blocks in said sequence of transport blocks sent with saidfirst frame have been omitted from said second frame using said errorindicator values.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein said errorindicator value indicator is set to one to indicate a transport blockhas an error, and set to zero to indicate a transport block does nothave an error.
 16. An article to preserve bandwidth in a communicationsystem, comprising: a storage medium; said storage medium includingstored instructions that, when executed by a processor, are operable toreceive a first frame of transport blocks from a mobile device,determine whether each transport block contains an error, generate anerror indicator value to indicate whether each transport block containsan error or does not contain an error, generate a second frame with saidtransport blocks that do not contain an error and without said transportblocks that do contain an error, said second frame having errorindicator values representing said transport blocks that do contain anerror and said error indicator values, and send said second frame to aradio network controller.
 17. The article of claim 16, wherein saiderror indicator value comprises a cyclic redundancy check indicator bit,and said generating comprises generating n cyclic redundancy check bitsfor n transport blocks.
 18. The article of claim 16, wherein said errorindicator value comprises a cyclic redundancy check indicator bit, andsaid second frame comprises n cyclic redundancy check bits for mtransport blocks, where n is greater than m.
 19. The article of claim16, wherein each transport block sent with said first frame has asequence number, and the stored instructions, when executed by aprocessor, are further operable to receive said second frame, retrievesaid error indicator values, and determine which transport blocks insaid sequence of transport blocks sent with said first frame have beenomitted from said second frame using said error indicator values. 20.The article of claim 16, wherein said error indicator value indicator isset to one to indicate a transport block has an error, and set to zeroto indicate a transport block does not have an error.